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MH17: Schiphol flower memorial grows

Just a few days after flight MH17 was brought down, Age video journalist Dean Lawry landed at the same Dutch airport it had flown from and encountered an impromptu and moving memorial to its passengers.

The parents of three West Australian children who were killed with their grandfather in the MH17 tragedy have released a statement addressed to "the Ukraine, the politicians, the media, our friends and family".

The Maslin children Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, 8, were flying home to Australia with their grandfather Nick Norris aboard the Malaysia Airlines flight when it was shot down over Ukraine.

Evie, Mo and Otis Maslin and their grandfather Nick were killed on MH17. Photo: Supplied

The children's parents, Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris, described their pain as "intense and relentless".

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"We live in a hell beyond hell. Our babies are not here with us – we need to live with this act of horror, every day and every moment for the rest of our lives," the statement reads.

"No one deserves what we are going through. Not even the people who shot our whole family out of the sky.

Nick Norris. Photo: Supplied

"No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for our children, for Mo, for Evie, for Otis. No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for Grandad Nick. No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for each other. This is a revelation that gives us some comfort."

The statement thanked family and friends who have supported the couple since the MH17 tragedy and asked that it continue, as "this expression of love is what is keeping us alive".

"So far, every moment since we arrived home, we’ve been surrounded by family and friends. We desperately pray that this continues ... We want to continue to know about your lives, all the good and all the bad.

"We no longer have lives that we want to live by ourselves. So we’d like to take the chance to thank everyone, all our incredible friends, family and communities, and to tell you all that we love you very much.

"We would also like to thank the people at DFAT; the local co-ordinator Claire and most sincerely, Diana and Adrian from The Hague, without whom we would not be here. We ask the media to respect the privacy of our family and friends – pain is not a story."

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